I’ve been eating at a 500-calorie deficit and in the last three weeks I’ve lost somewhere between 3-4 pounds so far, amount depends on what time of day I weigh myself (I weigh less in the morning, it fluctuates). Importantly, I’ve been paying close attention to both what I eat and how much I eat, with a special focus on getting lots of protein so I don’t feel lightheaded. I don’t always eat perfectly but I’ve been hitting my calorie goal more often than not. At my worst lately I’ve eaten at maintenance for a day.
I’ve also gone swimming a few times. I like swimming so it’s not hard for me to tell myself to do it. After I swim I tend to allow myself to eat up to half of the calories I burned swimming as long as I haven’t already gone over my amount for the day.
So for example, yesterday when I went swimming for 25 minutes I had about 250 calories left in my budget. I logged the swim as 20 minutes because I know that people overestimate calories burned in exercise.
A 20-minute leisurely freestyle swim for someone my weight (184) burns around 200 calories. I then allowed myself to eat my remaining 250 calories for the day, plus an extra 100 since I had gone swimming. My tracker showed that due to the calories I’d burned swimming, I actually came in under my deficit goal for the day by 100 calories. If I’d only been looking at food, I would have been over by 100.
It may help to know that I also had a craving for the particular food that put me “over” the limit, and had I not gone swimming, I probably would have ended up eating it anyway.
Anyway, I’m wondering if I should make it a goal to swim regularly. I’d like to do 2 45-minute swims on the weekend and maybe an extra 20-30 minute swim during the week if I can fit it in. I’m planning to keep using my same approach where I only eat up to half the calories I burn in swimming. (I track everything as sedentary by default.)
I’m also wondering if I should be doing strength training. That would be something I’d actually need to push myself to do. It would just be some basic calisthenics because I am out of shape. I don’t really have a desire to do it, I’ve just read that cardio + strength training is better for weight loss than cardio alone.
Please advise, thanks!
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